[Was Bathsheba’s Behavior Excusable? Did she, in a “round about way,” seduce David?]

“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house [palace] that he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful”[2 Samuel, chapters 11 & 12].

As the history of this event unfolds, David inquired of his aides the woman’s identity and was told she was “the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite.” David sent for her. “He took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her,” after which she returned to her house. Bathsheba conceived, and she sent word to David, “I am pregnant.”

For whatever reason, the complete details of this occurrence does not seem to be chronicled. Did Bathsheba know that if she bathed within view of the King’s roof, where he often took a stroll, sooner or later the King would see her in the nude? We don’t know for certain, but it seems to me she might have been aware of the King’s roof and that he was able, from the roof, to see his surroundings, including her bathing.

Yet another observation. The record says “she came to him.” If she knew in advance why the king wanted to see her, or at least suspicious of his solicitation, why did she not resist the invitation? She might have said to those who came to get her, “My husband, Uriah, is in battle with Israel’s enemies, and I dare not forsake or betray him.”

If she was completely ignorant of why the King wanted to see her, and therefore she went with the men who came to get her because, after all, the request was from Israel’s King, could she not have resisted David’s sexual advances? Perhaps she did, but the advances were coming from her King!

When David received the pregnancy message from Bathsheba, he was in a state of confusion and tried desperately to alleviate the predicament he had gotten himself into. He himself was married to one of Saul’s daughters, and he knew Bathsheba was married to one of his mighty men, Uriah, who, at the time, had gone off to battle Israel’s enemies.

As David planned it, Uriah was killed in battle, after which the King took Bathsheba as his wife. David’s newborn son died a few days after his birth. Because of his great sin, the consequences followed him and his house the remainder of his days on earth—as the Lord informed him. Although David was “a man after God’s own heart” [1 Sam. 13:14], his fleshly weakness became “his thorn in the flesh.”

All of us, like King David, have feet of clay, and the blunders we make snarl and snap at our heels all of our days. Without God’s marvelous grace and mercy, there would be no heavenly hope for any of us after death overtakes us. But there is hope! That “Hope” is our Lord and Redeemer. He died that we might be rescued from ourselves. Praise His Holy and compassionate Name.______

THINKING OUT LOUD— If the homosexual presidential candidate becomes President, America will be on her way to becoming another Sodom. Additionally, our nation will have its first male “First Lady.” The battle with Satanic forces must be won. Our divine Captain will lead the way.—Buff.

THINKING OUT LOUD— If the homosexual presidential candidate becomes President, America will be on her way to becoming another Sodom. Additionally, our nation will have its first male “First Lady.” The battle with Satanic forces must be won. Our divine Captain will lead the way.—Buff.

It would seem to me that America is not on her way to becoming another Sodom; rather America is already there. The acceptance by one of the two major political parties of an openly homosexual as a candidate for the President of the United States for their party says it all.

It would seem to me that America is not on her way to becoming another Sodom; rather America is already there. The acceptance by one of the two major political parties of an openly homosexual as a candidate for the President of the United States for their party says it all.

Yet another observation. The record says “she came to him.” If she knew in advance why the king wanted to see her, or at least suspicious of his solicitation, why did she not resist the invitation? She might have said to those who came to get her, “My husband, Uriah, is in battle with Israel’s enemies, and I dare not forsake or betray him.”

If she was completely ignorant of why the King wanted to see her, and therefore she went with the men who came to get her because, after all, the request was from Israel’s King, could she not have resisted David’s sexual advances? Perhaps she did, but the advances were coming from her King!

The vows of fealty for the vassal of a great king allowed the king to claim any/all property of the vassal, including his wife. The wife is sometimes specifically offered to the king as part of the vow. (source: The Amarna Letters)

Note also the 2 Biblical stories of Pharoah taking Abraham's wife Sarah, for his own. Same principle.

David taking Uriah's wife was actually well-precedented for his day and age, a cultural norm. It might even have been viewed as an honor, except...

Uriah wasn't actually there, and didn't actually make the offer. He was out at battle. And David wasn't.

That last part is actually a big deal. The fact that his country was at war, and David himself was not, is a problem. It was customary for a king in those days to go to out to battle. We know that David was a skilled general - it's how he became king in the first place. Why was he at home taking leisure strolls on the palace roof if the country was in the middle of a conflict?

Jarrod

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Regardless of how we “explain” David’s affair with another man’s wife, reality is that because he had an affair with another man’s wife, plus having her husband killed in battle, the Lord conferred a number of negative consequences upon him.

Yes, David was “a man after God's own heart,” yet he paid the penalty for, or suffered the results of, his sins.

Regardless of how we “explain” David’s affair with another man’s wife, reality is that because he had an affair with another man’s wife, plus having her husband killed in battle, the Lord conferred a number of negative consequences upon him.

Yes, David was “a man after God's own heart,” yet he paid the penalty for, or suffered the results of, his sins.

Buff

My point was... if David had been where he was supposed to be, the situation wouldn't even have arisen. Being where you're supposed to be is half the battle.